Beginning this Wednesday, BNG Executive Director Mark Wingfield launches a fall series of “change-making conversation” webinars that are free to attend.
Confirmed guests are Mikeal Parsons and Joao Chaves, authors of the new book Remembering Antônia Teixeira; David Gushee, BNG columnist and author of the forthcoming Defending Democracy from its Christian Enemies; Bill Wilson and Matt Cook of the Center for Healthy Churches; and Emily Smith, the Friendly Neighborhood Epidemiologist, who has a new book called The Science of the Good Samaritan.
The webinar series kicks off tomorrow, Wednesday morning, Aug. 30, at 9:30 a.m. Central time, with Parsons and Chaves, both professors at Baylor University. Their new book tells the true story of an 1894 sex scandal involving Baylor University President Rufus Burleson.
The webinar is free. Register here.
In 1894 Steen Morris raped Antônia Teixeira. Both had been guests in the house of Baylor University President Rufus Burleson. The assault took place in Burleson’s backyard and was the first of a series of assaults that eventually left the young Baylor student pregnant. Rather than hold the guilty party accountable, Burleson and other prominent members of the Baptist community in Waco launched a campaign of intimidation, victim-blaming and cover-up to preserve the virtuous image of their institution.
In Remembering Antônia Teixeira, Mikeal C. Parsons and João B. Chaves peel back the layers of concealment that have accumulated over a century of enforced silence about the case. Beginning with Antônia’s father, Antônio Teixeira, a priest who had renounced Catholicism and become a pillar of the Baptist community in Brazil, Parsons and Chaves uproot romanticized and hagiographical accounts of the Southern Baptist Convention’s foreign missions. They then follow Antônia’s journey north, her assault and the subsequent scandal that shook Texas — until it was intentionally erased.
The second webinar with David Gushee is scheduled for 3 p.m. Central on Wednesday, Sept. 6.
In Defending Democracy from its Christian Enemies, the Mercer University ethicist issues a call to preserve democratic norms, including constitutional government, the rule of law and equal rights for all. He analyzes where Christians have discarded their commitment to democracy and bought into authoritarianism in the U.S. and several other countries, both historically and today.
The webinar will tackle one of the thorniest questions of our times: How is it that so many Christians have become enemies of democracy?
Register for this free webinar here.
The third webinar will happen Wednesday, Sept. 20, at noon Central time, with Bill Wilson and Matt Cook. Wilson is the founder of the Center for Healthy Churches, and Cook is his successor as executive director.
They and their team of consultants frequently work with churches in leadership transitions, and now they’ve been through one themselves. The webinar will focus on what they’ve learned from their own experiences about successful leadership transitions for nonprofits and churches.
Register for this free webinar here.
Plans for the fourth webinar, with Emily Smith, are not yet finalized. A date will be announced soon.